How Does God Work Through Prayer if He’s Sovereign Over All Things?

How does God work through prayer if He's sovereign over all things? That's just one of the questions we'll be answering on today's edition of CORE Christianity. Hi, this is Bill Meyer, along with Pastor Adriel Sanchez, and this is the radio program where we answer your questions about the Bible and the Christian life every day. Here's our phone number. It's 833-THE-CORE. That's 1-833-843-2673. You can always leave a voicemail at that number 24 hours a day. You can post your question on one of our social media sites, and you can always email us with your question at questionsatcorechristianity.com. First up today, let's go to a voicemail from one of our listeners. This is Dani. That's my question, and I'd really appreciate if you would answer it.

Thank you so much. I guess I would want to know more specifically what you mean by the source of the devil's work. I don't think that someone who's been born again, a temple of the Holy Spirit, can have the evil one, Satan, possess them. He who is in us is greater than he who is in the world.

We are the temples of the living God. Satan has been cast out, if you will, exercised. And so if that's what you mean, can a Christian be possessed by the evil one, then the answer, I would say, is no. If what you mean is can the evil one influence believers in ways that lead to sin, in ways that lead to confusion, false teaching?

Well, I think that the answer is yes. That's what Satan is doing right now. He's seeking the tempt to deceive, to snatch up.

Peter says that he goes about like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour him. We're called to resist the evil one, steadfast in the faith. Paul talks about this also in the book of Ephesians. And so it's important for us to distinguish there, though, because I think for some people, if they assume, well, I'm a believer in Jesus Christ, but that doesn't mean that the evil one can't still possess me or something like that, I think that there's a lot of fear there. The passage of scripture that I would go to in thinking about this is what John says in 1 John 5, verse 18, we know that everyone who has been born of God does not keep on sinning, but he who was born of God protects him and the evil one does not touch him. We know that we are from God and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one. There's this protection that we have by the Lord, from the Lord, against the evil one. He can tempt us, he can seek to deceive us, but ultimately he can't lay claim to us because God has already laid claim to us. I also think of that instance in the Gospels where Peter tries to convince Jesus that he's not going to go to the cross.

You remember that? Now, of course, this is prior to Pentecost, the filling of the Holy Spirit, but Peter certainly is a disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ. And Jesus is talking about his crucifixion coming up and Peter says, no way, Lord, that's not going to happen to you. And do you remember what Jesus said to Peter? Get behind me, Satan.

In other words, Peter, you're being influenced by the evil one right now. You don't want me to go to the cross. You're saying I'm not going to go to the cross. You have this vision for the Christian life, this victorious vision for the Christian life. You don't think that I'm going to suffer. You don't realize that I'm going to suffer to put away your sins and the sins of the whole world, my people. And so, yeah, you do see examples in the New Testament of individuals, disciples of the Lord, who were deceived, who came under the influence of Satan, needed Jesus to rebuke them.

And when that happens today, I think it's just the same. God can use the evil one in the lives of genuine believers in order to humble them and to bring them to repentance, but they can't be possessed by him. Thanks for that question. Good, some good counsel. Thanks for that, Adriel. This is Core Christianity with Pastor Adriel Sanchez. If you have a question about the Bible or the Christian life, feel free to email us anytime at questions at corechristianity.com. Let's go to Ryan, who's on the phone from Oklahoma.

Ryan, what's your question for Adriel? My question is, in Joshua chapter 2, it talks about the spies going to spy on Jericho and they enter the prostitute's house, which is a part of the wall. And, you know, she hides them from the people of the city because I knew they're going to take a note where everybody was scared to death of them. But, you know, they tell her that they'll save her and her whole family as long as they're in her house. When they come back, I wouldn't, but her house is in the wall and the wall fell down, so I just didn't know how that exactly worked.

Okay, so you have Rahab, who is promised salvation. She's shown hospitality to these spies, but she lives in the wall, the wall of the city of Jericho, and it's those walls that crumble later in chapter 6. So how did she survive?

How did she live? I think some of it has to do, and I have to go back and really look into this some more, but just, I think we imagine the walls as these sort of towering things with people, you know, got windows living inside. I think the walls of Jericho, in terms of the construction, might have been a little bit different than we're envisioning so that it's not just, you know, she's at the top of this wall that falls over flat and somehow she made it. But the reality is also, when you look at chapter 6, it seems like there's the destruction of the walls, and then we're told after the walls fall, the trumpets blow continually, the walls fall down, the army then goes in and devotes the city to destruction. And that's what Rahab was promised, that she was not going to be among those who were devoted to destruction, those who were destroyed together with the rest of the city. So it wasn't that the whole city died when the walls fell, it was that the walls fell and they provided opportunity for the army of Israel to come in and then destroy the remainder of the city. But, we're told in chapter 6, verse 25, Rahab the prostitute and her father's household and all who belonged to her, Joshua saved alive. And so what we know is that, you know, when the walls fell, she wasn't killed by that event, by the walls falling, but that afterwards when the army came in, they rescued her, they delivered her. And so, yeah, the Bible doesn't speak more to that situation in particular, we just know that when they fell, she didn't die. Appreciate your question, Ryan, thanks for, you know, reading the scriptures and wanting to go deeper and understand, you know, some of these things and so appreciate you calling in.

And of course, Rahab mentioned again then in the New Testament, correct? In the Hall of Faith, that's right. Yeah, and certainly, right, you look at these individuals who are commended for their faith and you realize when you think about each and every one of them, boy, they struggled, they had sins and issues that they needed to work through, but it's such an encouragement, I think, for each of us, followers of Jesus, recognizing, knowing that there isn't one sinner. Who is perfect, who is sinless, who doesn't need God's grace, and that's, I mean, we're all in the same boat, and so.

Well said. This is Core Christianity with Pastor Adriel Sanchez. Just a reminder that we are a listener supported ministry, so we count on people just like you to help us pursue our mission of sharing the gospel, equipping believers, and answering the questions of non-believers.

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She says, Hello, Adriel. What a blessing you and Bill are. You make a wonderful team. Well, thank you, sir.

That's really sweet. She says, I'm embarrassed that after many years of loving God, prayer is still such a great mystery. I so believe in God's sovereignty. And yet, can our prayers change his mind and affect someone's life spiritually, physically or emotionally for the better as we see it? Conversely, can our lack of prayer for a loved one almost doom them to a life lacking all those things as we see as gifts from a loving God? I'm struggling with the fact that I don't pray as much as I could have or should have when our children were young. And now as adults, our children are bearing the consequences of my prayerlessness on their behalf. Can you help me understand this?

Wow. I mean, so there's a couple things there, Sarah. One is just the relationship between our prayers and God's sovereign purposes in the world. And two, there's also what I can hear just even in that email that you sent us, this great sense of weight that you feel because you didn't do enough or you feel like you didn't do enough as a mother for your children. First, let me just say, I think that that's something that every parent, we can all say, Lord, have mercy, because we look at our lives as we parent. We think, man, I could have done this better. I could have done that better.

Help. And it's never too late to pray and to keep praying. I think of the example of Monica, St. Augustine's mother. If you've not read her story in his book, The Confessions, you may want to pick that up because he was not converted until he was, I think, in his thirties. And she would pray for him and just call on the name of the Lord.

But there were some really rough seasons there. And I think it's an encouragement to pray. Certainly, we are encouraged to pray, to lead that godly example.

But you also need to know that it's not the strength of your prayers or the perfect example that you set as a mother that saves your kids. We do the best that we can, submit it to the Lord. And when we fall short, we say, God, have mercy.

Please forgive me. And we go to our children as well when we fall short. And we confess to them and we say, forgive me.

I could have done this differently or I should have done this differently. And we receive forgiveness and grace. But we trust in the Lord and in His strength and in His power to open the heart, to guide and to use even the difficult circumstances in our lives and in the lives of our children to draw them to Himself. May the Lord strengthen you. May He give you peace in Him, in knowing His goodness to you and to your family.

And may He be with your children right now, opening their hearts, drawing them closer and closer to Him as well. With regard to the role that our prayers play, it really is a great mystery. It's not that our prayers are bending God's will, if you will. It's not that we're changing the mind of God.

Of course, you read in the scriptures, in the Old Testament, the New Testament, sometimes that's what it seems like. But God knows all things. And when we pray, it's not so much that we're changing God, it's that we're being changed. We're being molded more and more into the image of the Lord as our prayers are aligning with His sovereign purposes. And God chooses to use the prayers of His people to accomplish those sovereign purposes in the world today.

Just like with so many things, God uses means to accomplish His purposes in the world, things like bread and wine and the Lord's Supper, means through which God communicates His grace. Well, one of the great means for the work of God in the world today is the prayers are the prayers of His people. And so we should pray believing that God uses our prayers to accomplish His purposes, but not thinking that it's our prayers that change the mind of God or something like that. No, we're praying in alignment with God's sovereign will and purposes. And that prayer that we offer up, those prayers are a reminder for us of our own great need of God's grace, of the fact that we depend upon Him for all things, even our daily bread. The next meal that I'm going to have, that comes from the Lord.

And so it humbles us. It puts us, I think, in the right position as we come before the Lord, trusting not in ourselves, but in His power and in His spirit to work. And so let me just take a moment right now, Sarah, to pray for you and for your family. Dear Heavenly Father, I thank you for Sarah and for this question that she's asked. And Lord, I know that there are so many of us parents who we think about our lives, our own sins, our own shortcomings as fathers, as mothers. And that can be such a weight on us as we seek to lead our children, to raise them in the nurture and admonition of the Lord and feeling like we've just failed.

And as a result of our failure, they're going to be lost, Lord. I know there's such a heavy burden to carry. I pray, Lord God, that you would help her to bring all of those things to you, to trust in you, that you would fill her with your Holy Spirit, that you would encourage her to pray, not out of a sense of guilt and shame, but because you hear her prayers and that you use our prayers, Lord, to accomplish your purposes. And I pray for her children right now, that you, Lord Jesus, would draw them to yourself, that you would be at work in their lives, blessing their relationship with their mother, blessing, above all else, their relationship with you, and calling them into your presence, Lord God. Give Sarah wisdom as she continues to have conversations with them, and give her your peace and a sense of your love and forgiveness and the strength that comes from you in Jesus' name. Amen.

Amen. Thanks for that, Adriel. This is Core Christianity with Pastor Adriel Sanchez.

Let's go to John, who's on the line calling from Temecula, California. John, what's your question for Adriel? Yes, I was just wondering, why did God put the tree of knowledge in the garden?

Yeah, John, thanks for that question. You know, some people think, you know, if God's just trying to set Adam and Eve up for failure there, you know, what's going on there? Sometimes theologians refer to this as the probationary period. God had given Adam and Eve these promises, really the promise of eternal life, heavenly life, should they obey, and he called them to obedience. There's a lot of echoes there, you know, with the, you know, you shall not eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil with what you find later in the decalogue. You shall not murder.

You shall not commit adultery. So you have this picture of this law set up there in the garden, this call to obey, to follow the Lord, and then it's time to see, you know, what is man going to do? What are Adam and Eve going to do?

And, of course, we know that they fell. They chose, based on the freedom of their own will, to eat of the forbidden fruit, and as a result, things have been bad ever since for humanity. Sin entered the world.

This is the original sin that affects all people born. You're either born in Adam, well, we're all born in Adam, but you either have Adam as your representative, a representative of death, if you will, and sin, or you have Jesus Christ, the new Adam. And, of course, he's prophesied about, promised, in the very next chapter of Genesis.

Well, you have the tree set up in chapter 2, and then you have the fall in chapter 3, and in that same chapter, you have this promise that the seed of the woman is going to crush the head of the serpent, the promise of the gospel. And so, in terms of, you know, why did God allow that? I mean, there are a number of things that people have said, well, you know, the freedom of choice that God wanted to give mankind, calling Adam to obey, calling Adam and Eve to obey there in the garden, that's one reason, this test, if you will. But at the end of the day, in terms of God's sovereign purposes, we don't, we just don't know. We know that he's in control, that he's sovereign, and that he hasn't permitted anything that he hasn't already purposed to resolve through his Son and in the gospel. And so, it's not that God, you know, is caught off guard by these things, it's not that, you know, things are now just, now it's just there's no hope.

No, God already knew what he was going to do in redeeming mankind and redeeming humanity by sending his Son into the world, and that's the hope that we have. Amen. Thanks for that, Adriel. This is Core Christianity with Pastor Adriel Sanchez. If you have a question about the Bible, the Christian life, doctrine, theology, you name it, we'd love to hear from you. You can always leave us a voicemail 24 hours a day at this number. It's 833-THE-CORE.

That's 1-833-843-2673. Here's a voicemail from one of our listeners named Taylor. Hi, Pastor Adriel. Thank you for taking my question. I had a question how you would go about counseling someone who may have, like, some form of religious OCD. I mean, I'm asking for myself because it's just something that I struggle with and have struggled with even after being saved. I'm tired of it because I feel like it's very incapacitating, and I was wondering, you know, what kind of advice would you offer or resources, you know, that you think might help someone in this situation?

Thank you. Bill, I want to talk to you about the OCD piece, but first I just want to say a prayer for Taylor. Father, thank you for this sister who's called in, and, Lord, she's tired. She's weighed down by this struggle that she has, fixating on things. So much introspection, I'm sure, Lord, that keeps her from having joy, from just resting in and receiving your goodness and mercy. And so I pray that you would help her to understand your love, the freedom that she has in Jesus Christ, and that she would, Lord, be filled with the fruit of your spirit, love, joy, peace, patience, that you would let her rest, Lord, in you, Jesus, the one who said, Come to me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. Please grant Taylor that rest for her soul. I pray in Jesus' name. Amen. Bill, so, I mean, part of me thinks there's the theology piece here in terms of rightly understanding the rest that we have in the Gospel and not, you know, falling into the navel-gazing and the heavy introspection that can be incapacitating, right?

Like, it's just very difficult. But there's also the reality of OCD and some of these other issues, and so can you speak to that and maybe where you would point, Taylor? You know, there are some Christians, Adriel, who are concerned that, well, if I, you know, go see a therapist, a psychiatrist, if I take medication, somehow that shows a lack of faith on my part, and I really don't believe that at all.

In fact, I think that's completely a misunderstanding of how God created the world and how the fall has affected us, and we've mentioned this before, you would never tell a diabetic, you know, don't take your insulin, just have enough faith and pray about it. And the same thing goes with something like OCD because it does involve brain chemistry and brain activity, and what we know from, you know, all the research is the two things that are most helpful. One would be cognitive behavioral therapy, and I would say going to a Christian therapist who practices that particular type of theoretical, you know, orientation.

And then the other is medication, and there are some medications that have been very effective in helping people with OCD. So I guess what I would say to Taylor is if you haven't explored those options, by all means, do so. Again, try to find someone who's a Christian that will share your beliefs. But even if the psychiatrist, hard to find a psychiatrist who's a believer, even if they're not a Christian, at least someone who will respect your Christian beliefs, that's always very important.

You don't want someone who's going to try to undermine your beliefs who will, you know, really be fair and reasonable and support you in your beliefs. And so then go ahead and talk about the theological part because there is that aspect, I think, of worrying about our salvation, you know, the reassurance of salvation. I would want to ask Taylor, you know, what are you hearing from the pastors that you listen to, from the pastor in your church? Is it a lot of, you need to do more navel-gazing?

You know, you need to try harder, you need to do better. How much are you reading your Bible, and can you really say that you want Jesus with all your heart, or are you, you know, double-minded, that kind of a thing? I think there are some pastors who, you know, like, the way they present the truth of scriptures is very, well, you just, you need to really question whether or not you're saved. Now, I know that there are people who are deceived, but what we need to build people up in is the promise of the Gospel, the solid rock of Jesus Christ. And Taylor, you need that, you need Christ placarded before you for the forgiveness of your sins, week in and week out, and you need to rest in the great grace that he gives to you freely, not on the basis of your works, but of his mercy. God bless. Thanks for listening to CORE Christianity. To request your copy of today's special offer, visit us at corechristianity.com and click on offers in the menu bar, or call us at 1-833-843-2673. That's 833-THE-CORE. When you contact us, please let us know how you've been encouraged by this program. And be sure to join us next time as we explore the truth of God's Word together.